by Anastasia Button
Directly after Thanksgiving is the great American shopping day, Black Friday. Normally, Black Friday is associated with special deals from large retailers on and offline. However, there is another special national holiday that celebrates America’s small businesses: Small Business Saturday.
The holiday was started by American Express in 2010 and has taken off since – happy 10 years, small businesses!
Residents of Grand County may be tempted to make holiday purchases online from large retailers like Amazon and Walmart, but what happens to the local community when dollars are spent outside of the local area?
For every $100 spent on non-local business like a national chain, only $43 stays in the community, according to the “Local Works!” study by Civics Economics.
However, for every $100 spent in the community on local businesses, $68 stays in the community. That is a 25% increase and, especially considering that a single household is most likely spending more than $100 for the holiday season each year, the impact of local dollars staying local can contribute to major community gains in the long-term.
Shopping in a local business district means conserving tax dollars with less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money available to beautify the community, and “for every ten jobs at a small business, another seven are supported in the local community” (Business Wire).
Kremmling, for one, has perhaps seen some of the direct impact of increased local spending during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
While stay-at-home orders were enacted earlier in the year and regional travel was the focus during the summer vacation months, the Town has seen a significant increase in sales tax revenue.
Through August, the Town had collected nearly $150,000 more in sales tax than it had in the same period in 2019, a 22% increase year-on-year.
But the year’s not over yet… get ready to support your town and your Grand County neighbors for Small Business Saturday on November 28, 2020!
